CARING FOR THE CARETAKERS
Program gives backstretch workers fun activities
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Chuck Greer understands the hardships involved with being a Latino backstretch worker because he’s with them constantly throughout the 40-day Saratoga Race Course meet.
Like all stable workers, Greer, 27, a freelance exercise rider, gets up before dawn and gets to the track at 5:30 a.m. to start caring for racing’s worldclass equine athletes.
An aspiring jockey, he’s made numerous friends from around the world during his seven years working at tracks throughout the country.
“It’s a big melting pot,” Greer said. “These guys are just here to work, to better themselves, just like anybody else. We just do it
with horses. To work with these animals, it’s something you’ve got to want to do.”
His left arm is currently in a sling, after suffering a track-related injury.
But that’s minor compared to the scars Eddie Alarcon, 67, of Chile, has collected during 47 years in the industry. It’s a tough, dangerous job and he’s had the broken bones — arms, legs, hip, ribs — to prove it.
Alarcon arrived in Saratoga this spring, when the Oklahoma Training Track opened, and he’ll be here until it closes in mid-November before heading to Gulfstream Park in Florida.
“Saratoga is the best place,” he said.
It’s a sentiment shared by most stable workers, thanks in large part to a Backstretch Appreciation program sponsored by Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson that provides entertainment, dinners and activities every evening, from the track’s Opening Day through Labor Day.
More than 300 people turned out for a weekly Bingo Night on Wednesday, where Spanish-language racing broadcaster Luis Grandison called out numbers.
“This is the most talked about activity on the backstretch,” Greer said. “Everybody’s been asking me all day, Are you going to Bingo tonight? It’s the prizes, the food, the camaraderie.”
Grand prizes such as new bicycles, DVD players and flat-screen televisions are also a major attraction, along with raffles for cash payoffs.
“This program is an incredible thing; one of a kind in the whole country,” said Paul Ruchames, Backstretch Employee Service Team of New York executive director. “At all the race tracks there’s nothing that compares to this. It gives workers something really special to look forward to each night, something that makes them feel really welcomed and cared for. It’s a reward for their dedicated hard work.”
This is the program’s 10th year.
“By now everyone knows about it, they talk about it,” Ruchames said. “It’s just a great thing.”
Alarcon said Bingo is one of his two most favorite Backstretch Appreciation events. The other is a series of ethnic-themed dinners, which serve more than 700 people.
“Every Sunday we get dinner from a different country — Italy, Mexico, Jamaica (Caribbean),” he said. “More people than ever are coming out for these.”
On Tuesdays, stable workers still have to care for animals when the track is closed. This Tuesday, when their work was done, 80 people traveled to Lake George for an evening cruise aboard the MinneHa-Ha paddlewheel boat.
“They were so excited,” said Nick Caras, Racetrack Chaplaincy in New York program director. “They took so many pictures. They were in awe of the scenery. Amazingly, many people videoed the entire hour on the boat. Then afterward we walked around town at night.”
Bowling and rodeo outings are also planned, and Soccer Nights are held each Monday when teams from rival Latin-American countries square off in lively games. The program also includes a series of Learn English!-Learn Spanish! nights to help people improve their language skills.
“It definitely enhances their lives,” Caras said.